The film is based on a novella of the same name by Alexandre Kazbegi.
A Chechen girl, Eliso, and a Georgian highlander, Vajia, are in love with each other, but it is impossible for them to be together. In the meantime, the tsarist government is looking for a reason to expel the Chechens from their land and give it to the Cossacks instead. The residents of Eliso’s village send a letter to the governor-general, asking him to let them stay, but their efforts are all in vain. Eliso, who is forced to leave her homeland and Vajia, sets fire to the village before leaving.
The film was restored in 2020
